


Ruby Rose and the Relic

by vividder



Series: RWBY HP AU [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, RWBY
Genre: Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Gen, Harry Potter AU, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-14
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-07 00:46:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 15,432
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14659704
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vividder/pseuds/vividder
Summary: Ruby Rose is a wizard, going to Hogwarts with her sister, Yang Xiao Long.  Along the way, they meet new friends, discover suspicious teachers, and ultimately go on a great adventure.





	1. On the Train to Hogwarts

Ruby Rose and her sister, Yang Xiao Long, walked across Platform 9 3/4 together. Yang merely smiled as Ruby bounded alongside her, gazing in awe at the Hogwarts Express.  “I can’t believe I get to go to Hogwarts with you!” Ruby exclaimed, jumping up and down beside their trunks. “This is going to be so great!”

“I know,” Yang said.  “I really hope we end up in Gryffindor together.”

“I’m sure you girls will end up in the same house.  Both your mothers and I were in Gryffindor, and I can’t imagine a better place for you two,” Taiyang said, smiling proudly.

Ruby noticed other students climbing onto the train, and pulled at her sister’s arm.  “Yang! We have to get a compartment before they’re all taken!”

“What, and just leave dear old dad without a second thought?” Taiyang asked with a playful smile.  

“Of course not!” Yang exclaimed, and wrapped her father in a bone-crushing hug.  She stood back and let her shorter sister hug her father before helping Ruby gather their luggage.

Together, they headed off towards the train, Taiyang waving at their backs.  “Remember to write!” he reminded them. “I want at least an owl a week!”

“He says that, but I doubt he’ll even mail anything back,” Yang told her sister as they walked onto the train car.  It didn’t take them long to find an empty compartment, which Ruby claimed as hers. Yang helped her stow her luggage, but didn’t stow her own.

“What are you doing?” Ruby asked as her sister stood in the doorway.

“I’m going to go find some friends,” Yang said.  “You can’t spend the next seven years of your life glued to my hip, sis.”

“But I want to be glued to your hip!” Ruby ran over to her sister and wrapped her arms around her.  

Gently, Yang peeled the younger girl off of herself.  “Ruby, people will like you for who you are. You won’t have any problems making new friends at Hogwarts.  I promise.”

“But what if they don’t?  What if they don’t want to be friends, Yang?”

Yang flashed her younger sister a smile.  “Well, then you’ll always have me.” As she left, she shut the compartment door.  Ruby opened it as quickly as she could, but Yang had already vanished into another compartment.

Feeling slightly dejected, Ruby huffed and sat back in her seat, staring out at the people on the train platform.  She wanted them to like her  _ so badly _ .  But she was also afraid she’d screw it all up.  Yang had told her that the rumors weren’t true, that no one really played too many mean pranks on the first years.  But Ruby wasn’t entirely sure she believed her.

 

Yang sat in her compartment by herself.  She felt kind of bad for just abandoning Ruby like that.  But Ruby did depend on her far too much in social situations, and Yang wanted to break that habit before it became awkward in school, especially if Ruby wasn’t in Gryffindor.

She’d just been minding her own business when another girl walked up to her compartment.  She had black hair, adorned with a large bow on top of her head, and had a large bag hung over her shoulder.  “I hope you don’t mind if I sit here?” she asked quietly.

“Of course not!” Yang said, and helped the girl with her luggage.  The bag she carried by her side turned out to be full of books, mostly fictional romances with heartthrobs on the covers.  “I’m Yang Xiao Long. Nice to meet you.” She held out a hand, and the girl shook it.

“Blake Belladonna.”  

“Are you a first-year too?” 

“Yeah.”  Blake sat down across from her and opened one of the books from her bag.

“Whatcha reading?”

Blake closed the book to look at the cover.  “It’s called  _ The Man With Two Souls _ .  It’s about a man with two souls.”

Yang nodded.  “That sounds cool.  I prefer comic books, though.  I even have a few Muggle comic books that I got for my tenth birthday when my dad took Ruby and I to the Muggle mall.  They’re in my trunk if you want to see them.”

“I’ll pass.  Thanks, though.”  Blake had returned to reading, and didn’t even look up from her book at Yang’s excited ramblings.

 

Nora dragged Ren onto the train by his arm.  “Come on, lazypants!” she practically yelled.

“It’s not like we’ll get to Hogwarts any faster if we’re the first or the last people onto the train, Nora.”

“I know but it’s so exciting!  I can’t wait to learn how to do real magic!” she shouted as she hunted around for an empty compartment.  Ren was glad he’d gotten her to agree to that, at least. He wasn’t sure if anyone else would have been able to stand Nora’s hyperactivity for the eleven hour train ride.

“What house do you think you’ll end up in?” Nora asked.  “I hope I’m in Gyffindor, although Hufflepuff wouldn’t be too bad.”  She shifted in her seat so she was upside down, with her head near the floor and her legs in the air.

“I don’t know,” Ren said.  “Perhaps Ravenclaw.”

“Whatever happens, we have to end up together.  Do you think we can bribe the sorting person so they make sure we’re in the same house?”

“I don’t think that will work, Nora.  We don’t have anything that we could use as a bribe on us anyway.”

“What, two Galleons, five Sickles, and three Knuts isn’t a worthy bribe?” Nora righted herself in her seat.

“Not if you want to eat today, no.”

Nora crossed her arms in a fake pout.  “You’re no fun.”

 

Weiss Schnee walked onto the train, hiding her nerves behind her poise.  Most of the compartments had filled up by now, and she just wanted to find someplace to sit that wasn’t already mobbed by people.  Preferably with some upperclassmen as well, as she wanted start her Hogwarts career off on the right foot. Her name alone might have pull with the teachers and staff, but she wanted her influence known to her peers, too.

Weiss made the mistake of stopping to look in a compartment with a single, short girl in a red dress inside, drawing in a sketchbook.

“Hello!” the girl said, looking up at Weiss.  “Do you want to sit with me?”

Weiss could tell she was a first year from her size alone.  “No,” she decided, and moved on.

A few compartments down, though, she encountered two other girls.  One, with long blonde hair, looked like she might be slightly older, so Weiss sidled into the compartment.  

“Do you mind if I sit with you?” she asked.

“Go ahead,” the blonde girl said, moving some of her things aside to make room.  “I’m Yang, and that’s Blake. We’re apparently the reading compartment for the day.”

“Well, impressing the teachers is very important,” Weiss said, taking a seat next to Yang before realizing that she was reading a graphic novel rather than one of their textbooks.  Blake wasn’t much better, as she appeared to be reading a trashy romance novel with a shirtless man on the cover.

“What house do you think you’ll be in?” Yang asked.

“Slytherin.  My whole family has been in Slytherin,” Weiss said.  “It’s only expected that I continue to maintain the Schnee family legacy.  I’m Weiss, by the way.”

Blake looked up.  “You’re a Schnee?”

“Do you have a problem with that?”

“Your family committed hate crimes against the Faunus during the last war,” Blake said, her eyes narrowing.  

“And that’s in the past.  People have moved on by now,” Weiss responded flippantly.  

“Maybe you and your pure-blooded human family have, but many of the Faunus lost their families during the war to the atrocities your family committed,” Blake snarled.

“Hey!” Yang interjected.  “Blake, Weiss can’t help what her family did.  Weiss, cool it. How about we all just read?”

“If I never have to hear from her again, I’ll happily read until the day I die,” Blake shot back, laying down on the bench and returning to her book with a hostile glint in her eye.

Weiss huffed, and pointedly looked away from Blake before pulling  _ Hogwarts: A History _ from her own bag.

Yang hadn’t thought it was possible to read passive-aggressively, but these two were doing a fine job of demonstrating for her.

 

The second Jaune looked away from his toad’s carrier, it hopped out and away.  “Aw, shucks,” he said. Now he had to go look for it. His littlest sister had gotten it for him as a birthday present with all of her pocket money, and she’d been so proud of her gift.  Jaune knew it would crush her if he lost it so quickly, or even if it died by the end of the school year. He wasn’t cut out for watching frogs, just like he probably wasn’t cut out for wizarding school either.

He stood and walked to the next compartment over, where a pretty girl with reddish-brown hair sat by herself, watching the world pass by outside the window.

“Have you seen my toad?” he asked, feeling a little foolish.  She was obviously an older student. For a moment, Jaune feared she would make fun of him before she smiled apologetically.  “Sorry, no. Would you like me to help you look?”

Jaune scratched his head anxiously.  “No, it’s okay. Thanks, though.”

Jaune walked through the train, asking others.  Another girl sitting by herself in a compartment, this one looking closer to his age, also offered to help.  Jaune felt much less awkward talking to her, mostly because she looked as out of place as he did. 

He went to the next compartment over.  Two of the girls looked at him with expressions ranging from disinterest to scorn, while the third just shook her head apologetically.  “Sorry. Haven’t seen him.”

Another compartment, with a dark-haired boy and an orange-haired girl, also said they hadn’t seen him.

Jaune was beginning to despair.  His sister would be so upset if the frog she’d worked so hard to buy for him had vanished before he even got to Hogwarts.

He returned to the compartment with the girl his age.  “Actually, do you mind helping me find my frog?”

“Sure!” The girl jumped to her feet.

“Still no luck?” The older girl had started to come out of her compartment and noticed Jaune talking to the girl.

“Yeah,” Jaune had to admit.  “Still no toad.”

The girls, Ruby and Pyrrha, jumped into the search with gusto.  They hunted under the dessert cart and in the tiny nooks and crannies.  Finally, they cornered the toad in the girl’s bathroom. Ruby presented him to Jaune with a huge grin on her face.  “Here you go!”

For some reason, they followed Jaune back to his compartment.  Pyrrha vanished for a moment, and brought back a pack of Exploding Snap cards, and she and Ruby taught Jaune how to play.  As the train ride continued, an ever-growing pile of candy wrappers began to form in the corner of the compartment, and time seemed to pass ever more quickly.


	2. First Day at Hogwarts

By the time the train had arrived at the castle, all of the students had changed into their robes and the various Prefects had reassured them that they wouldn’t have to take their luggage off the train.  Nervously, most of the first years made their way off the train, over to where a large man was calling for them to gather.

Pyrrha squeezed Ruby’s hand and wished her luck at getting into Gryffindor before she split off to join the older students.

“Follow me, firs’ years, an’ mind yer step!” the large man called, and Ruby forced herself into the spot next to Yang.

“Hi sis!” Ruby said.  

“Make any friends?” Yang whispered.

“Yep!”

They hiked along a short trail in the moonlight before coming to the shore of a beautiful lake.  On the horizon, the gorgeous silhouette of the castle loomed over them, lights glittering in the windows like a multitude of tiny, welcoming eyes gazing at them from afar.

Ruby’s eyes glittered with excitement.

“No more ‘an four to a boat!” their guide called.

Ruby followed her sister to a boat, and the girl in black that she’d been talking with joined them.  The girl in white, who had been trailing behind and looking very unhappy, had left to go to another boat.  She appeared to be heading towards Pyrrha.

Ruby’s attention was drawn away from the unhappy-looking girl when Jaune approached her again.  “Can I ride in your boat?” he asked sheepishly.

“Go for it,” Yang said.  

“Yang, this is Jaune,” Ruby said.  “We shared a compartment on the train.  Jaune, this is my sister Yang.”

“Blake here sat with me on the train,” Yang said, gesturing to her companion.  “Blake, meet my sister, Ruby.”

“Hi,” Blake said, giving her a small wave.

“Onward!” their guide ordered, and the spelled boats cast off, making their way lazily across the lake as the castle continued to loom over them, becoming larger and more detailed with each passing second.  The boats arrived at a path, which lead up to the bottom of the large, stone steps of Hogwarts.

Ruby had never seen a building more imposing in her life.  She gazed up at it with wonder in her eyes.

The large man stood in front of the huge wooden doors, raised his hand, and knocked three times.  The sound echoed throughout the silence outside the isolated castle.

At once, the door opened to reveal a woman wearing a white blouse and a black skirt.  Her blonde hair was tied up into a messy bun, and her lips were puckered into a frown.  

“The firs’ years,” their guide said, presenting them proudly.

The woman took over, guiding them through a small hallway to an antechamber.  Ruby could hear people talking behind the wall. Her heart thudded in her chest.

“I am Professor Goodwitch,” she said, turning to face them.  “It is my pleasure to welcome you to Hogwarts. Before we begin the banquet and you all take your seats in the Great Hall amongst your peers, you will be sorted into your Houses.  The Sorting is a very important ceremony because your House will be like your family at Hogwarts for the next seven years. You will attend classes with your House, sleep in the House dormitories, and spend your free time in your House common room.

“Each house--Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, Gryffindor, and Slytherin--is noble and honorable in its own right.  Each House has hosted its own remarkable witches and wizards throughout its history. At Hogwarts, Houses are awarded points for their members’ triumphs and docked points for students’ misbehavior.  At the end of the year, the House which has amassed the most points wins the House Cup, which is a great honor.

“Now, the Sorting will begin in a moment.  I suggest you remain quiet and try to neaten yourselves up while you wait.”

Goodwitch turned and left, and the first years began to chatter anxiously.  “What’s the ceremony?” Jaune asked nervously.

But no one seemed to know any more than he did.

“I hear it’s some sort of test,” the girl in white piped up.

Blake rolled her eyes and sighed in frustration.  “Come on. They wouldn’t test us in front of the entire school like that.  We don’t even know any magic.”

Jaune seemed slightly relieved at Blake’s comment.

Finally, Professor Goodwitch arrived, and instructed them to form a line.  Feeling silly, and trying to stay as close to her sister as possible, Ruby got into the single file procession and Professor Goodwitch lead them out into the Great Hall.

Ruby now knew why the castle was so big.  

The Hall was filled with four long tables, each spanning the width of the giant room, with a smaller table raised on a dais at the front for the teachers.  The hall was lit by a multitude of candles which hovered in the air, and it didn’t seem to have a ceiling, as Ruby could see the clouds floating overhead in the night sky as clear as if she stood outside.  

At the front of the line, Professor Goodwitch a tattered hat on the stool.  Everyone went silent.

And then the hat sang a song.  Ruby wasn’t sure what was more impressive: that an inanimate object had composed and sung a song, or that everyone was listening to said song with rapt attention.  Either way, it was really, really cool. And way easier than whatever test the girl in white had suggested.

“When I call your name, sit on the stool and put on the hat to be Sorted,” Goodwitch instructed the first years, and took out her Scroll.  “Abbott, Hannah!” she called

A blonde girl walked up to the stool, picked up the hat, and carefully placed it on her head.

“HUFFLEPUFF!” the hat roared, and a table of people with blue trimmings on their robes cheered loudly as she walked over.

Goodwitch continued to call names, barely waiting for the cheers to subside and the student to sit down before calling the next name.  Finally, “Arc, Jaune!” was called, and the blonde boy walked nervously up to the stool.

The hat sat on his head for a few moments before it called out, “GRYFFINDOR!”

A table full of students in red and gold cheered.

A few more names, then: “Belladonna, Blake!”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

More cheers from that table.

The litany continued, and Ruby felt increasingly nervous about her own destination.  

“Ren, Lie!”

“GRYFFINDOR!”

Finally, Ruby’s name was called.  “Rose, Ruby!”

Well.  Nothing to do but put on the hat and get it over with.

“GRYFFINDOR!”

As the cheers rose through the hall yet again, Ruby felt her heart warm as she walked towards the table cheering for her, obviously glad to have her there.

 

“Schnee, Weiss!”

Weiss kept her composure as she walked up to the stool and put the Sorting Hat on her head.

“Well, you’re obviously a brave girl with brains in your head,” a tiny voice said in Weiss’s ear.  “Gryffindor would suit you well.”

_ No!  _ Weiss barely stopped herself from crying out.   _ Not Gryffindor!  Please, please Slytherin _ ...

“I suppose you’d do just as well there, too.”  The hat sounded resigned. 

“SLYTHERIN!” it roared.

 

Ruby watched the rest of the sorting from amongst her new friends.  “Valkyrie, Nora!” joined them her at her table, then it was Yang’s turn.

“Xiao Long, Yang!”

Ruby watched her sister walk up to the stool and set the hat on her head.  It didn’t seem like a tough decision for the hat at all. “Gryffindor!”

This time, Ruby cheered along with the rest of her table in welcoming her sister to her side.

After that, Professor Ozpin stood at the teacher’s table, wearing his green wizarding robes.  He had white hair and small reading glasses perched on his nose. He held a cup of coffee as he spoke, sipping occasionally.  “You’ve all had a long day, so I’ll keep this brief. Each and every one of you came here today, searching for knowledge. Each of you plans to leave this school with the ability to make a difference in the world.  But I look out at this room, and I just see wasted potential in your chairs. You assume that an education at Hogwarts can free you from your ineffectualness. However, you would be wrong. Only you can make the decision to take the first step to making a difference in the world.”

As he sat back down, the empty platters and plates at the tables filled themselves with all manner of delicious foods, and the hungry students dove in and ate their fill.

 

Nora had never before seen so much food in one place.  Her eyes grew to the size of the gold dinner plates on the table when it appeared out of thin air, on platters and in bowls.  Even Ren couldn’t help but be amazed. 

“Can you believe this?” Nora whispered, gripping Ren’s arm tightly.  “How is there so much food in one place?” Her eyes glittered at the prospect of being able to take part in the feast.

“I have no idea,” Ren said.  As the serving dishes passed their way, they began to heap food onto their plates.  

Ren watched his classmates and tried to match the amounts of food he put on his plate to what they put on theirs.  Having never known when their next meal would come, Ren had always eaten what was available. Now that he had an abundance of food, Ren had no idea what to do with it.

Nora didn’t care what others thought, or about reasonable moderation.  She’d eat herself sick if she could. Her whole plate probably had two layers of different foods on it, and she ate like there was no tomorrow.

“Is every meal like this?” Ren asked an older student.

“Well, not every meal is the same food, but yeah, we always eat in the Great Hall.”

“Woah,” Nora said in awe.  “I wish we could stay here forever.”

Even though the statement was unreasonable, Ren honestly couldn’t disagree with her.

 

“Now, some announcements,” Professor Ozpin declared as the leftovers vanished from their plates.  “As always, the forest on the grounds is off-limits to all students. No magic should be used in the corridors between classes.  Anyone interested in trying out for the Quidditch teams should contact Madame Hooch as soon as possible; tryouts are next week. And finally, for this year the right-hand side corridor on the third floor is forbidden to students.  Good night, students. Lessons begin tomorrow.” And with that abrupt ending, the headmaster walked offstage.

“Is he always like that?” Yang asked.

An older student shrugged.  “Eh, it really depends on the day.  At least his speech wasn’t long this year.”

 

Ruby and Yang followed the prefects to Gryffindor Tower, where Professor Goodwitch was already waiting for them.  “It is my pleasure to welcome you all to Gryffindor, where I hope you will all strive to reach your full potential among your like-minded peers.  Although you have an exciting day ahead of you, I would like to remind you all that your actions and your choices reflect on everyone else in your House.  You should remember to carefully consider the consequences of your decisions as you go through your classes tomorrow.”

The first years nodded solemnly.  Ruby wondered if Goodwitch ever smiled.

“Girls’ dorms are on the right, boys’ on the left.  Do not find yourself in the other gender’s rooms, or you will face those consequences I mentioned earlier.  Now, off to bed with you.”

Ruby and Yang claimed the first empty room they came to, both jumping on their chosen beds before anyone else could take them.  Luckily they hadn’t chosen the same bed, otherwise a fight would have likely broken out.

As they started to get settled in, another girl walked through their door.  Ruby recognized her from the boat: Blake, Yang’s friend.

“Do you mind if I share your room?” she asked quietly.  

“Sure,” Yang said, and Ruby agreed with her.

Blake took the bed nearest Yang’s.

Finally, as the noises in the hallway were started to quiet down as people settled in, a red-haired girl peeked through their door.  “Got a bed?” she asked.

Everyone gave her an affirmative answer.

“Go ahead, have it,” Yang said.

“Thank you so much!”  Relief visibly flooded her face.  “I thought that I’d have to sleep in the hallway or something.”

The girl went to the empty bed and stretched out like a cat.  “These blankets are so soft!”

“So, I’m Yang, this is my sister, Ruby, and this is our friend Blake,” Yang said.

“I’m Nora,” Nora said.  “Thank you so much for letting me stay in your room.”


	3. First Friday

Their first week of classes flew by.

From sleeping during History of Magic lectures, to trying to turn matches into needles in Transfiguration, the students were consumed with both work and wonder.  Those who hadn’t grown up in a magical world still gaped in awe at even the most simple magic, and those who had known about magic all their lives couldn’t wait to claim their heritage and do the same spells they’d seen parents and siblings perform.  

 

On Friday, an owl flew over to Nora at breakfast.  It landed on the table and hooted softly as it approached, holding out its foot.  Nora didn’t notice its arrival at first, as she was still awestruck by having been presented with two large meals and a warm bed within twenty four hours.  

“It’s for you, Nora,” Ren said.

“Mm?”  Nora swallowed her bite of sausage and looked at the barn owl.  Cautiously, she reached out her hand, and when the bird made no move to bite her, she carefully untied the letter on its leg.  The bird sat there, cocking its head at her.

Nora unrolled the paper.

“Nora and Ren,” she read aloud.  “I would like to hear about your first week at Hogwarts.  Would you like to visit for afternoon tea? Hagrid.”

She didn’t even wait for Ren before writing a letter back, accepting the invitation.  “We can’t just ignore him after he did so much for us,” she explained.

Ren took a sip of his tea and nodded in agreement.  “I’m glad the teachers here are so understanding of their students’ circumstances.”

“Exactly!” Nora beamed.

 

Later that day, the Gryffindors had their first Potions class with the Slytherins.  Everyone shuffled into the class, eager to see what class with Professor Oobleck would be like.  

Professor Oobleck turned out ot be an excitable man with bright green hair.  “Potion making is both a science and an art, and as such, should be taken very seriously!” he said, talking quickly as he paced the front of his classroom.  “Since we don’t use wands, many of you will brush this class off as a joke! I’ve seen it happen year after year! But if you take my class seriously, you can make lives, take lives...I daresay, under the right circumstances, which occur more often than you think they will, potions will provide you with more flexibility and power than spells ever will!”  He turned to Ruby. “Rose! What would I get if I added powdered root of wormwood to an infusion of asphodel?”

The question caught Ruby off guard.  “What?”

“Xiao Long!  Where would you go to find a bezoar?”

Ruby noticed that Weiss had her hand raised in excitement.  “I don’t know, sir.”

“Arc!  What is the difference between monkshood and Wolfsbane?”

“Uhhh...their leaves?”

Several people could no longer hide their laughter.  Ruby felt her own cheeks getting red, and noticed her sister balling her hands into fists.  Jaune traced the wood grain in the top of his desk.

“Miss Schnee, can you answer the questions?”

Weiss stood up.  “Asphodel and Wormwood combine to make a sleeping potion so strong that it has been called a Draught of Living Death.  A bezoar is found in a goat’s stomach, and acts as an antidote to most poisons. And monkshood and wolfsbane are the same plant,” she rattled off.

“Ten points to Slytherin, Miss Schnee.”

After that humiliation, the class divided into pairs and boiled a boil-removing potion.  Oobleck, at least, was more fair when it came to potions than rapid-fire questions, as he seemed to show an interest in helping the students be successful, even if they weren’t from his house.  Unfortunately, Jaune and Ruby had screwed up badly enough to melt their cauldron. Ruby had the good sense to jump on a desk, but Jaune wasn’t fast enough. As soon as the potion touched his skin, boils rose where he’d been splashed.

“Miss Rose, please escort Mr. Arc to the infirmary,” Oobleck had instructed them, and off they had gone.

“So far, this has not been a good year,” Jaune muttered.  He leaned on Ruby as they limped to the hospital wing. 

“It’ll get better,” Ruby promised.

Jaune wasn’t sure.

 

Nora and Ren walked down to Hagrid’s hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest after potions let out.

Nora knocked on the door, and heard both footsteps and scrabbling paws from within.  “Fang! Back!” Hagrid called, and when he cracked the door, they could see Hagrid holding a giant black dog back by its collar.

Nora’s eyes widened.  “Ren, look at that dog!”

Ren didn’t seem all that impressed by the dog, although he did pet its head once it calmed down enough for Hagrid to let them in.  Nora was much more excited, rolling around on the ground and playing with Fang like a puppy.

“Thank you for inviting us over,” Ren said.

“S’not a problem,” Hagrid said as he bustled about in the kitchen, making tea for the students.  “I like to keep up with the students.”

Once the tea was finished, Nora joined Ren and Hagrid at the table, Fang panting happily at her side.  

“I think he likes yeh, Nora,” Hagrid said as he patted him on the head.

“Yay!  I like Fang too.  He’s so adorable!”

From there, the conversation turned to their first week of school and what they liked and disliked about Hogwarts.

“Professor Oobleck was weird,” Nora said.  “He’s so critical. Like, it’s our first day of potions!  How are we supposed to know the difference between asphodel and wolfsbane?”

“Monkshood and wolfsbane,” Ren corrected her.

“Tha’s jus’ how Professor Oobleck is.  Hard but fair. You jus gotta get used to him.”

Nora hummed.  “That makes sense.”

Finally, Nora asked about magical creatures.  “So, besides Fang, do you have any other animals?”

“Well, the school has thestrals that pull the carriages that take the older students to the schools, and we’ve got some flobberworms and other minor creatures around for Care of Magical Creatures and Defense Against the Dark Arts.  Then there’s Fluffy--” Hagrid seemed to realize that he’d said something he shouldn’t have, and quickly stopped speaking.

“Fluffy?” Nora asked.  “I want to meet anything named Fluffy!”

Ren looked at her with an expression that begged her not to ask.  

“Yeh can’t,” Hagrid stated simply.  “Jus’ forget that I ever mentioned him.”

“Fine,” Nora agreed.  “Just promise me that maybe I can meet Fluffy later.”

“I promise that when he gets back, he’ll meet yeh.  He’s got three heads and loves playin’ fetch, yeh two would probably get along like good old friends.”

Nora grinned at Ren.  “Can’t you wait to meet Fluffy?”

Ren, who hadn’t been too thrilled with meeting Fang, seemed like he didn’t know how to answer that question and keep all his limbs.


	4. Clashes Between Houses

Jaune’s year only kept getting worse, to many people’s amusement, but Ruby found herself disappointed. Jaune was...nice.  And he tried really, really hard. But as a Muggleborn who’d previously been homeschooled, he really didn’t have enough experience around other people to be able to play his mistakes off for laughs.

One day, at breakfast, Jaune got an owl.  Ruby and Yang crowded around to see what it had brought.  Jaune opened the letter, and a bracelet made of red and blue thread fell out of the folds. Jaune skimmed the letter before holding up the bracelet.

“Sunny made this for me,” he explained, slipping the bracelet onto his wrist. “It’s a friendship bracelet.”

 

That afternoon, they had their first flying lesson.  And of course Jaune screwed that up, too, lifting off too early and not being able to control his broom and breaking his wrist.

Once Madame Hooch had left with Jaune, the taunting between Houses began.  After all, she’d only told them not to fly or touch their brooms, not to not tease and taunt.

“What a pathetic lump,” a tawny-haired boy named Cardin said when they were out of earshot.

“Shut up, Cardin,” Weiss snapped, surprising everyone.

“You’re seriously standing up for that kid, Schnee?” Sky, his friend, asked in surprise.

“I am.  He didn’t fall on purpose, and it looked like it hurt.”  Weiss had her nose in the air like she was trying to prove something.  

Suddenly, Cardin grabbed something lying in the grass.  Ruby recognized it as the friendship bracelet that Jaune’s sister had just sent him.  “Wonder if he’d even miss this stupid thing,” he wondered.

“Give it here,” Ruby said, stepping forward.  

“Or what?  You’ll stop inviting me to your tea parties?”  Cardin tossed the bracelet into the air and caught it with one hand.  “I think I’ll leave this for him...up a tree.” With a sly grin, Cardin took off, leaving Weiss shouting on the ground about how Slytherin would lose points if they were caught.

Ruby didn’t think before she got on her broom and chased him.  Yang yelled at her from below, but Ruby didn’t care. Jaune was trying just as hard as anyone else here, and he didn’t deserve to be treated like dirt.  

Cardin looked stunned to see her floating at eye level with him.  “Give it!” Ruby insisted.

Cardin smiled.  “Fetch.” He turned around and tossed the bracelet through the air.

Ruby had no idea how she’d done it, but she found herself lying on the ground next to her broom with the bracelet caught in her fist and an angry Goodwitch shouting at her.

“Ruby Rose!”

All of the cheering and chattering stopped as their teacher marched through the courtyard towards Ruby.  And she did  _ not  _ look happy.

 

“That was incredibly stupid and by all rights, I should be punishing you for ignoring a teacher’s direct instructions and endangering yourself and your fellow students,” Professor Goodwitch said, rapping the desk with each word, making Ruby flinch.  “Unfortunately, your little display prevents me from punishing you as thoroughly as I would like. If Gryffindor even wants a chance at winning the House cup, we’ll need someone like you as our Seeker.”

“You want me to play Quidditch?”

“If the first year ban can be modified, then yes, I would like you to play if you are willing.”

“And I’m not getting punished?”  Ruby was still slightly confused about that bit.

“Only if you consider physical activity a punishment.  But I get the impression that you’re perfectly fine with a little hard work, Miss Rose.”

“Then yes.  Yes! Yes! Totally yes!”

 

Although Madame Pomfrey had given him a little painkiller potion and a small dose of something called Skele-Grow, Jaune’s wrist still felt strange.  Even though it didn’t hurt, he wasn’t sure it had entirely healed either.

Now, did they have potions to heal wounded pride?

Jaune had gone to the library in hopes of being able to hide from everyone he might know.  Unfortunately, Pyrrha called his name from where she was studying. “Jaune!”

“Oh.  Hey, Pyrrha,” Jaune said, forcing a smile.  “How’s it going?”

“Good.”  Pyrrha took off her reading glasses and sat them on the desk in front of her.  “How are you enjoying Hogwarts?”

“Eh.”  Jaune wasn’t sure how honest he should be.  “It’s tougher than I thought it would be.” He told her about the exploding cauldron, the flying accident, and the snickers and laughs.  “Maybe I’m just not cut out for this,” he concluded, hanging his head.

“Oh, Jaune.  Don’t say that,” Pyrrha said, trying to console him.  “You wouldn’t have been invited to Hogwarts if you didn’t have some kind of magical talent.”

“But that’s just it!  I can’t seem to do anything right!  What if there was some sort of mistake?”

“Would you like me to help you?” Pyrrha asked.  “I could work on spells and potions with you in the evenings, if you would like.”

“No! No, it’s fine,” Jaune insisted, perhaps a little too quickly.

“I am a fourth year student, Jaune.  I do know what I’m doing by now.”

“I got that, it’s just...I can figure it out myself, I’m pretty sure.  Just gotta figure out what to do about Cardin, and Oobleck...no, really, it’s fine.  I’ll manage. But thanks, though.” The words just kind of tumbled out of his mouth, each one making everything worse.  Jaune had a feeling that even Pyrrha wouldn’t be able to see him as anything other than a weak, awkward kid after that blathering.

“Well, if you’re sure...”  Pyrrha returned to her essay.  “It was good to see you again, Jaune.”

“You too, Pyrrha.”

As Jaune went to attempt to find another place where his Gryffindor classmates wouldn’t easily find him, he felt worse than when he had entered the library.  Wow. Good going, Jaune.

 

Ruby heard someone come up behind her at dinner and turned to look at the person standing behind her.  “Getting one last meal before your expulsion, Rose?” Cardin’s cocky expression betrayed the fact that he didn’t actually know the consequences Ruby had recieved.

“Actually, I’m not being expelled.  Sorry to disappoint you.” Ruby went back to her food, but the bullies’ presence had angered Yang.

“Sucks to be you,” Yang taunted them.  “So insecure that you have to go around attacking little girls to feel good about yourselves.”

Cardin’s face reddened.  “You think you’re so tough?  I could take you in under a minute, Xiao Long.”

“Prove it.”

“Fine.  Meet me tonight, at midnight.  We’ll have a wizard’s duel in the trophy room.  Don’t be late.”

“You’re on.”

As Cardin walked away, Ruby looked at her sister.  “Are you really planning to sneak out to duel him?”

Yang shrugged.  “Why not? Could be fun.”

“But we’ll get in trouble!  We can’t be out of Gryffindor tower at midnight!”

Yang didn’t seem to be taking this nearly as seriously as her sister.  “Ah, but who says we’re out of Gryffindor tower if we don’t get caught?”  Her eyes sparked in anticipation of the night’s excitement. “You’ll be my second, right?”

Ruby couldn’t refuse her.  “Fine. But if we get caught, it was all your idea, and all your fault.’

‘Deal.”

 

Yang woke up just before 11:30 and quickly changed into her uniform before shaking Ruby’s shoulder.  “Come on!” she urged her younger sister.

Reluctantly, Ruby rubbed her eyes and got out of bed before slipping on her own uniform.  She looked groggy and exhausted, but Yang really didn’t care. Adrenaline flowed through her veins.  She had a duel to win!

“You two are not going to duel,” Blake said.  She stood up from her own bed and folded her arms over her pajamas.  Curiously, Yang noticed that she wore her bow on her head, even at night.  “Remember what Goodwitch said last week? If one of us breaks the rules, our entire House loses points.”

“Do you seriously want to win the House Cup that badly, Blake?”

“I don’t really care about the House Cup.  I just don’t want you or Ruby to get hurt or in trouble for no reason.  Besides, do you even know any spells that could help you in a duel?”

“Not really,” Yang admitted.  

“So there’s really no point in showing up.”

“Except for the fact that I’ll look like a coward if I don’t show up to the duel.”

“But in reality, you’re actually braver if you don’t defend your reputation by doing something stupid because you know the consequences to your reputation and you’re willing to accept them in order to prevent others from being penalized by your actions,” Blake pointed out.

“I really don’t want Cardin and his cronies to think I can’t stand up for myself,” Yang pleaded.  “All they spend their time doing is using their family names to put others’ down!”

“That’s their problem, not yours,” Blake responded.  “Do you really think that fighting them, even if you win, will get them to stop bullying for good?”

“Maybe!”

“No, it won’t!  They’ll just show up to breakfast, jeering at everyone like always!”

“Shush!” Ruby hissed.  “I’m going back to bed.”

Blake glanced at Yang.  “You can’t go without your second, anyway.”

Yang stomped back to her bed and climbed in, giving both Ruby and Blake the stink eye on the way.

 

Weiss was half-asleep over her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay in the Slytherin Common Room when the sounds of footsteps echoing through the dungeon brought her fully back to consciousness.  She sat up in her chair and looked around. Anyone in the Common Room at this hour was either studying, or asleep studying. So, what was this person--who turned out to be Cardin Winchester--doing walking towards the door?

Weiss stood and walked over to him.  “Where do you think you’re going?”

“Get out of my way, Schnee,” he snarled at her.  “This doesn’t concern you.”

“If you’re sneaking out, it does concern me,” Weiss answered, putting her fist on her hip.  “Do you want to ruin our House Cup winning streak?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he scoffed.

“You’ll cost Slytherin points,” she warned.  “You’ll get caught.”

“How do you know?”

“Come on!  You sound like an elephant.  If you can’t sneak through your own Common Room without being noticed, how are you going to get through a whole building filled with trick stairs, ghosts and teachers?”

“I can do it, Schnee.  Just go back to your little book and pretend this never happened.”

If there was one thing Weiss hated more than sheer stupidity, it was being patronized.  “If you take one more step towards that door, I’ll hex you so hard that your head will spin for days, Winchester,” she hissed.

Cardin smiled wickedly.  “Try me.” He turned and walked towards the door.

“Locomotor mortis,” Weiss whispered, waving her wand at him.

Cardin went down like a bag of rocks as his legs stuck to each other, stiff as lampposts.  Weiss ignored his whispered protests as she gathered her things and headed for her room.


	5. Troll in the Dungeons!

It started as a simple Halloween prank and ended badly.

In Charms, they’d been declared ready to practice levitation charms, and everyone had been given feathers and a partner to help them practice.  With all the buzz about the feast that evening, no one really was too focused on their lessons.

Ruby and Nora had been working together on getting the incantation right so that perhaps, one of them might levitate their feather when they were interrupted by a shout.  

“Hey!”  Blake was on her feet, looking at her partner, Yang, with anger and tears in her eyes.  Her hair ribbon, which she never went without, lay at her feet. Her eyes shone with tears.  Yang looked shocked, with one hand over her mouth.

Blake had two furred cat hears on top of her head.

“I’m so sorry,” Yang said, and both girls reached for the ribbon at the same time, causing them to bump heads.

Blake wiped her eyes as Professor Port reminded them all to get back to levitating their feathers.

“I hope she’s okay,” Nora said solemnly.

But Blake wasn’t okay.  Someone’s catcall of, “Here, kitty kitty!” as they left the class sent the tearful girl running.

Yang looked after her.  “God, some people just really suck.”

 

No one saw Blake all afternoon.

 

The feast looked amazing, but Yang found she couldn’t enjoy it.  She kept thinking about Blake running out of Charms after being teased.  She should have done something, gone after her...now she was missing the feast.  

Yang snuck some pastries into a napkin and slid them into her bag.  She would give them to Blake tonight, as an apology.

All of a sudden, Professor Torchwick walked quickly through the hall and caught Professor Ozpin by the arm as he stood next to the end of the Gryffindor table where Yang and Ruby sat.

“There’s a troll in the dungeon,” he said seriously, in a low voice.

Professor Ozpin nodded once, sharply, and called the room to attention.  “Prefects! Please lead your students back to their dorms,” he said, perfectly calm and composed.  The room buzzed in confusion, but everyone agreed on one conclusion: something was very wrong.”

Yang grabbed Ruby by the arm.  “Blake doesn’t know about the troll!” she hissed.

“We have to let her know!”

They followed their prefects out of the Great Hall, where there was thankfully chaos as teachers and prefects tried to wrangle the students back to their Houses.  It wasn’t hard for the Gryffindors to pretend to be Hufflepuffs for a few seconds before slipping off into an empty hallway. After all, the teachers were distracted with getting to the dungeons as quickly as possible anyway.

As they crept towards the girls’ restroom nearest their Charms classroom, a stench wafted through the air.  Both girls wrinkled their noses.

“What smells like old gym socks?” Ruby asked in a nasally whisper as she pinched her nose.  

At that moment, they heard footsteps echoing through the halls and snorting noises, almost like something was grunting.  Yang pulled Ruby behind a statue, and they peered out into the perpendicular hallway to see a mammoth troll, hairy and ugly as sin, shuffling its way past them in the moonlight.

“I’m guessing that,” Yang replied, covering her own nose and mouth.  

They watched as it came to a door left open a crack and paused before bumbling its way inside.

“That’s the girl’s bathroom!” Ruby squeaked, and ran for it as a scream rang out from inside.  

“Blake!  Hold on!” Yang shouted, on her sister’s heels.  

Inside the girl’s bathroom, the troll had already knocked the sinks off the wall as it struggled to make its way between them and the stalls to Blake, who was pressed against the back wall with her ears flat to her head and her teeth bared.

“Hit it with something, Yang!” Ruby shouted.

Yang picked up one of the stall doors that had been knocked off its hinges and brained the troll, who stumbled around and roared.

“You want more where that came from?” Yang taunted it, and she whacked it again.  This time, the plank snapped in half, and part of it went flying towards Blake, who ducked.  Ruby was about to try and sneak around the troll when Blake leaped from the ground up onto the divider between the stalls, balancing there with unnatural ease.  “Ruby! That pipe!”

By now, the water and echoes had thoroughly disoriented the troll.

Ruby tossed the pipe, but it fell short and the troll raised its club and slammed it into the divider that Blake had been perched on.

Blake landed on her feet with nary a problem, picking up a piece of debris and hitting the troll with it.

Suddenly, a flash of red light came from behind them, and the troll collapsed to the ground in a heap.

Yang turned around to see Oobleck, Goodwitch, and Torchwick standing behind them.  Goodwitch had her wand out, and her lips were pursed into the most severe frown Yang had ever seen directed at her.

“What the hell were you girls thinking?” Goodwitch’s unwavering voice barely concealed her anger.  “You could have been killed.”

Neither Ruby nor Yang could think of an answer to that.

But Blake raised her hand slowly.  “They didn’t come to fight the troll.  They came to warn me, and Yang probably saved my life.  She brained it with a door right as it was about to strike me, and it missed.  If they hadn’t showed up, I would be dead, Professor.”

It was only then that Yang noticed that Blake had returned her ribbon to the top of her head.

Goodwitch gave a frustrated sigh through her nose.  “If you’re not hurt, I want you to return to your dorms immediately, where the rest of your classmates are finishing their feasts.”

Blake nodded, and left immediately, slinking out of the room.

“Ruby, Yang,” Professor Goodwitch began, “Ten points to Gryffindor for putting your friend before yourselves.”

But Blake had been waiting outside the door for them. “Thanks, guys.”

“It’s no biggie,” Yang said.  “Besides, who else can say they got to fight a troll in their first year of school?”


	6. Quidditch, Part 1

The first Saturday in November was Ruby’s first Quidditch match, and Yang was quite possibly more excited than anyone else in Gryffindor.  Ruby, meanwhile, was horribly nervous. “What if I screw up?” she whispered to Jaune. “What if I fall off my broom, or run straight into someone?  What if I lose the game for Gryffindor, and it’s all my fault?”

“None of those are definites, Ruby,” Jaune said.  “And Yang, and I, and probably Blake will always support you, even if you end up doing something foolish.  Yeah, people might laugh today, but they’ll forget about it by next week. Trust me on that one, I know from personal experience.”

The fact that Ruby didn’t quite know what particular incident Jaune was referring to said a lot about his short time at Hogwarts and his reputation thus far.

“You’ve been training really hard!” Yang reassured her sister.  “Trust me, the team this year isn’t going to be anything short of amazing!” 

“You got this, Ruby,” was how Blake showed her support.

 

Eleven o’clock came, and the Quidditch game kicked off.  Yang, Blake and Jaune found themselves sitting next to Ren and Nora, who turned out to be polar opposites, yet best friends.   Nora passed out pennants she’d made with dragons on them.

Suddenly, Nora let out a cheer even though nothing had happened.  “Hagrid!”

The groundskeeper and their guide from the first day stood at the end of their bench on the bleachers, and the students quickly moved to make room for his bulk.  “Hullo, Nora, Ren. How’s the game?”

“We got a point!  We got a point!” Nora chanted, looking absolutely over the moon at the news.  She handed Hagrid one of her pennants, and it looked absolutely miniscule in the giant’s hand.  

“But there hasn’t been any sign of the Snitch yet,” Ren added.  “Yang’s sister is the Seeker.”

“Yup,” Yang agreed.

Hagrid had a pair of binoculars hanging around his neck, and he brought them to his eyes to get a better look at the game.

The match was neck and neck, a fun watch, especially after the Snitch was released and Ruby and the Slytherin Seeker flew in tandem, each trying to outdo the other one and prevent them from catching the glittery golden orb.  Suddenly, one of the Slytherin players flew in front of Ruby and she slammed into him.

“Foul!” The crowd roared, and Yang stood and shook her fist at the Slytherins. 

“That’s my little sister, you--” she started, but Blake yanked her back down.

“It’s okay, Yang.  Ruby’s all right,” Blake said.  

The game resumed, and so did the crowd’s good humor, until Yang noticed something strange.  “What’s she doing?” Yang asked. “Ruby’s broom is twitching.”

And indeed it was.  She didn’t seem to be able to control it, and her face contorted into an expression of fear and confusion.

“Did the foul do something to the broom?” Nora asked, but Hagrid shook his head, also looking disturbed.

“Nothin’d do that to a broom ‘cept powerful Dark magic, which none ‘o the students would know,” Hagrid explained.

Ren held out his hand, and Hagrid passed him the binoculars.  After a few quick adjustments of the lenses, Ren’s mouth set into a firm line.  

“What is it?” Yang demanded.

“Blake, have a look at this.  Look at Professor Oobleck.” He passed her the binoculars, and Blake looked out at the crowd until she found the person Ren had indicated.

“He’s watching Ruby.  And his mouth is moving,” Blake explained.

Nora gave a wicked grin.  “Leave this one to me, girls.”

“What are you doing?” Yang demanded, but Nora held a finger to her lips and slipped out of the stands.  She made her way through the crowd of people on the raised bleachers to where Oobleck sat with Torchwick and Goodwitch, who looked confused at the events on the pitch but paid no attention to their colleague.

 

Nora approached the unsuspecting teachers and did what she did best: be herself.

“Hey Professor Oobleck!” she practically shouted, making him jump and turn to face her.  “So, I had a question about that essay you assigned us on Friday. When you say the essay is supposed to be a foot, does that include the header?  How much space do you want between the lines? Any paragraph limit? What if we go over? Wait, what if I can’t find enough information and I write really small and it goes under?  Can we work with a partner? Do you take them late? Can we use contractions? What about first person? Should it be in present or past tense?” Throughout her entire spiel, Nora didn’t stop to think, nor did she stop to breathe.

Professor Oobleck, to his credit, only looked at her in bewilderment for a moment before answering.  “Nora, this is a Quidditch match. Please come see me after class, and give me enough time to actually answer a question before asking the next one, and I will do my best to help you.  Go have fun with your friends.”

“Thanks, Professor!” Nora replied, before skipping back through the crowd and returning to her friends.

For once, Oobleck had spoken more slowly than anyone else in the conversation!

 

From the stands, the others watched Nora make her way over to Professor Oobleck, then engage him in conversation. The second she startled him and his eyes left Ruby, she regained control of her broom and began swooping towards the ground in a steep dive.

Yang bit her lip in anticipation.

Ruby jumped off her broom, landing on the ground with a clumsy roll to absorb her leftover momentum.  She brushed herself off and stood, then began jumping around, a little gold object just barely visible in her raised hand.

“She got the Snitch!” the announcer shouted, and the Gryffindor  section went absolutely wild. In her excitement, Yang hugged Blake, who blushed and awkwardly hugged her back.

Nora jumped on Ren from behind, almost knocking him over.  “Mission accomplished! Winner winner chicken dinner!” she sang.

Yang hugged her too, for good measure.  For a short girl, Nora was surprisingly strong.  

 

“That was so weird!” Nora exclaimed as she skipped around Hagrid. He’d invited her and her friends for tea, but Yang and Blake had said they’d rather go and congratulate Ruby after the match.  So, she and Ren were heading down to the small cabin on the edge of the Forbidden Forest with their giant friend.

“Ruby’s broom went all freaky, but when I interrupted Professor Oobleck, it stopped.  Wonder what that was up with that?”

“It looked like a wandless jinx,” Ren said.  “You broke his eye contact with Ruby’s broom--the object of the spell--when you surprised Oobleck and he looked at you.”

Hagrid looked over at Ren.  “Don’ yeh go accusin’ people of things they didn’ do.  I can assure yeh, Oobleck’d never’ve tried to curse Ruby’s broom.”

“He’s strict, but he’s not Dark, Ren,” Nora said, still jumping around.  

“I never said he was,” Ren interjected.

“Whatever happened, maybe it was just coincidence.  Weird broom or whatever,” Nora said, and the conversation turned to other, more pleasant topics.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Shout out to my AP Psychology teacher for helping me come up with Nora's annoying rant!


	7. Christmas

Christmas came around, and with it, cold weather, excitement, and holiday decorations.

Yang, Ruby, Jaune, Nora and Ren were the only first years in Gryffindor who had decided to stay for the holiday.  Ruby, because she was having too much fun at school to want to go home; Yang, because she wouldn’t leave Ruby anywhere by herself; Jaune, because he finally felt like he belonged somewhere; and Nora and Ren, because they had no home to return to.

On the first day of their break, Ruby sat by the fire, reading a book, when Jaune came up to her with a box in his hands.  “Wanna play some chess?” he asked.

“I’ve never played chess before, but sure!” Ruby answered, setting her book face-down on the arm of the chair and slipping down onto the floor, where Jaune slid a wooden board out of the box.  

“I can teach you,” Jaune said.  He set up the board and introduced Ruby to the pieces and rules, patiently answering each of her questions.  

Their lesson took all afternoon, and included a few games.  For Jaune, it was nice to know something someone else didn’t, and to be the one teaching for a change.  

Ruby, on the other hand, had finally figured out exactly what she wanted to get Jaune for Christmas.

 

On Christmas day, Ruby woke up the earliest and immediately hopped over to Yang’s bed, landing directly on her sister.  “Wake up, wake up, c’mon, it’s Christmas!” she whisper-sung as she bounced next to Yang, who opened her eyes slowly.

“It is too early for this, Ruby.”  Yang rolled over and stuffed a pillow over her head.

But it was too late.  Ruby’s earlier antics had already woken Nora.

“Get up, Yang!  Your sister’s right!  It’s Christmas!” she shouted, getting out of her own bed and examining her few presents.  The pile, Ruby noticed, was much smaller than what she and Yang had received.

Nora didn’t really talk about her family, but Ruby had to figure the story wasn’t a happy one.  Still, Nora seemed to take everything in stride, and she pounced on the two packages she had.

Ruby turned to her own loot.  From Yang, she’d received a red rose hair clip.  Her father had gotten her some Mad Miggs, the Mad Muggle comics.  Blake had sent a box of fudge, and Jaune had given her a friendship bracelet in red and gold.

 

In the common room after the feast, Jaune marveled over the wizarding chess set Ruby and Yang had purchased for him.  “This is so cool!” he had gushed when they’d arrived in the common room, and now he was talking to all the pieces, trying to explore different strategies with them for the future.

“I think he likes his gift, Ruby” Yang quipped, and Ruby giggled.

Outside, snowflakes fluttered to the ground.

“But, I think this weather calls for...a SNOWBALL FIGHT!” Yang shouted.

“Yeah!” Ruby agreed, dashing off to their dorm to get her winter clothing.

“Oh, you’re on,” Nora said, from across the common room.  “Ren, let’s teach these losers how to lose!”

Ren, who had been almost asleep in his book, hadn’t expected to be bodily dragged to his dorm room and told to, “Prepare for battle!”

Laughing, the Gryffindor first years all ran outside and began to pack snow into fortifications on their respective halves of the tiny battlefield, although the team aspect of the game quickly turned into an ‘every man for himself’ situation when Yang dumped a handful of snow down Ruby’s coat and got chased for her trouble, giggling wickedly.

This inspired Nora to throw one of Ren’s meticulously-crafted snowballs right back at him, which started another chase as he tried to tackle Nora into the snow.

Jaune got mixed up in the mess when Ruby stole his hat and wouldn’t give it back.  He ended up throwing a snowball at Yang, who chased Ruby towards him and the three of them ended up rolling around on the ground in a happy heap.

“This is the best Christmas ever.” Nora sighed contentedly once they’d all settled back in the common room.

“Agreed,” Ren said.


	8. The Standoffish in the Library

Once the holidays ended, the students turned back to their studies with gusto.  Jaune was in the library, doing his Charms homework when someone cleared their throat next to where he sat.  Cardin Winchester stood over him, grinning smugly.

“You’ll do,” Cardin said.  “Come with me, Jaune.”

Jaune, ignoring the little voice in his head that told him Cardin probably didn’t want to show him a book, followed him anyway out of sheer curiosity.  That trait, in retrospect, had probably caused a great deal of his many problems and embarrassments, but it also made his life exciting in good ways sometimes too.

Neither boy noticed Weiss, who set down her parchment and set off on their heels.  

Cardin led Jaune into the stacks, and when they’d woven their way into the shelves where no student nor librarian would be likely to find them, they stopped.  Cardin maneuvered so Jaune was forced to put his back to a shelf of books about the history of Muggle technology. “Why did that stupid hat ever put you in Gryffindor?  You’re not strong. You’re not brave. In fact, you’re barely a wizard.”

“Cardin, knock it off,” Weiss said from the end of the row, folding her arms.  “You’re not cunning or ambitious. Bullies like you make all of Slytherin look bad.”

“And this is your business how, Schnee?”

“It’s my business because Slytherin is my House too, and whatever you dimwits do affects me too.”  Weiss unfolded her arms and held her fists at her side. “So quit it and go back to doing whatever it is you do when you’re not tormenting people.”

“Whatever,” Cardin said, not seeming bothered at all by his classmate’s glare.  “Locomotor mortis.” He flicked his wand at Jaune, and Jaune’s legs stiffened, causing him to fall over.  

Cardin sauntered away as Weiss muttered the countercurse and waved her own wand. Jaune found that his legs could move again.  “Thanks,” he mumbled. 

Weiss began walking away like she didn’t want to acknowledge the incident, yet Jaune asked the question anyway.  “Why did you help me?”

The girl turned.  “What do you mean?”

“You didn’t have to say anything.  They’re in your House. And I know I’m kinda new to this whole wizarding thing, but people treat people outside their Houses like they don’t really matter.  I’ve seen that. Why do you go out of your way to help me?”

Weiss sighed.  “Being in Slytherin doesn’t mean you have to be a jerk, you know,” she said, and continued on her way.


	9. Quidditch, Part Two

It wasn’t long before another Gryffindor Quidditch match came around.  This time, Ruby was much more excited about the prospect of playing the game than before, especially since she’d won the game for her team last time and they’d thrown a party to celebrate.

Of course, Ruby being Ruby, she wasn’t content to just win games.  For her second match, she had to do it in under five minutes. It was totally unplanned of course--the best strategy in Quidditch was always to score lots of points and try to end the game as soon as possible--but it surprised even her when she landed on the ground with the golden Snitch in her palm.

After the game, as she went to return her broom to the Quidditch supply shed when she noticed a figure with a brown trench coat and green hair walking quickly towards the Forbidden Forest.

What was Professor Oobleck doing out here when dinner was being served?  

Ruby glanced around to make sure no one saw her, then hopped back up onto her broom and followed him, watching from above.

Professor Oobleck entered the Forbidden Forest, and from there, he got a lot harder to find.  The older wizard was sneaky, but Ruby knew a little bit about being quiet and kept flying in a grid pattern just above the treetops until she heard voices.  She pulled on the broom to make it hover in place above a copse of trees and flattened herself against the handle, trying to get close enough to hear. Ruby’s breathing became increasingly shallow as she struggled to remember to listen and keep her balance.

“You have a terrible taste in meeting places, Barty.  That castle over there probably has a thousand secret nooks and crannies, and you want me to ruin my new boots marching out here?” Torchwick’s voice floated clearly over the trees.

“Many students also know about those passages.  I intentionally chose a place where students would not risk going.  After all, they are not to know about the Relic,’ Oobleck said, quietly and sternly.  “Do you know how to get through the beast yet?”

“Chill for a minute, Oobleck,” Torchwick said casually.  “I’ve been working on it, okay? It’s a lot of work actually teaching the brats and not blowing my cover.”

“You’d better get to work, Roman,” Oobleck said.  “I know that I may appear harmless, but you do not want to cross me.  Do you understand?”

“I got it, I got it.  Just leave everything to me, Barty.”

 

“Where were you, Ruby?” Yang said when Ruby walked into the Gryffindor Common Room to a chorus of cheers.  “Everyone wants to congratulate the best Seeker we’ve ever had!”

“I’ll tell you later,” Ruby said quietly, before smiling and joining the party.  

That night, she sat in her room with Yang, Blake, and Nora and told them what she’d heard after she followed Oobleck into the forest.

“I knew it!” Yang pumped her fist in the air.  “I had a feeling that he was up to no good and now we know for sure!”

“He certainly has been acting suspiciously ever since the year began,” Blake added from where she was perched on her bed with a novel.

“And I think it all has to do with that third floor corridor!” Ruby added excitedly.  On and off, the girls had speculated about its purpose. The only consensus they had come to was that it had to be hiding something.  “Students aren’t supposed to know about the Relic,” she repeated. “Students aren’t supposed to go in the third floor corridor!”

Blake shook her head.  “By that logic, the staff rooms are obviously malevolent because we aren’t allowed there, either.  It could just be storage that they don’t want us getting into.”

“Fine, then tell me where in the castle you’ve seen a beast,” Yang challenged her.  “Nowhere, right?”

“We haven’t even seen close to the whole castle yet!”

“Nah, there’s definitely something there,” Nora said, looking up from her game of Exploding Snap, which she’d borrowed from Ruby.  

“How do you know?” Blake asked.

Nora grinned.  “Hagrid told me about something named “Fluffy” that likes to play fetch, but that I couldn’t meet for some reason.  Besides, haven’t you noticed noises when you’ve walked past that door on your way to class? There’s gotta be something in there!”

“And Torchwick’s trying to get past it,” Yang added.  “Which means whatever it’s guarding probably isn’t going to stay under guard for long.”


	10. Into the Corridor

As the year dragged on, the girls and Ren began to discuss ways to protect the Relic.  Soon, it became nearly as important to them as their classwork, especially once Goodwitch threatened to take 50 points off each time she saw one of her students loitering by the door, listening for Fluffy.

“I hate feeling like we can’t do anything,” Yang complained to Ruby after their final exams.  “I feel like we just wasted the second half of the year coming up with half-baked plans that never would have worked.”

“Don’t worry, sis,” Ruby said with a grin.  “Fluffy’s still there, which mean we still have time.”

“Yeah, but the thing is, it’s running out.  Oobleck’s not gonna wait forever, especially since the school year’s almost up.”

“I said, don’t worry.  Meet me in the common room tonight, after everyone’s gone to sleep.  Bring Blake.”

 

“We’re going to steal the Relic,” Ruby announced in a whisper, once her crew had assembled in front of the fireplace.  “Right now, it’s in danger because Oobleck knows where it is. If we get rid of it, then he can’t get his hands on it because he won’t know where it is!”

“Ruby, if two grown men and trained wizards can’t get past Fluffy, what makes you think we can?” Blake asked.

“Nora told us it liked to play fetch!” Ruby said, pulling a red ball out of her pocket.  “We just have to keep it distracted until we can grab the Relic and go!”

“You don’t have a plan, do you?”

“It’s mostly a plan!” Ruby tried to defend herself.  “Besides, how bad could this thing be?”

Blake put her hand over her eyes in frustration.  “You never say that before going to try and sneak past a guard dog and steal something valuable!”  She took her hand away from her eyes. “Fine.”

“Fine?” Ruby and Yang said in unison, both equally shocked by their friend’s sudden change of heart.

“Just this once, I will go along with your crazy half-baked plan because I’m concerned about Oobleck and the Relic, even though I’m pretty sure it won’t work.”

Yang and Ruby exchanged a quiet high five.  Together, the three of them snuck out of the tower.

 

On the stairwell in front of the third floor corridor, the trio encountered someone that they hadn’t expected to see there in their wildest dreams: Weiss Schnee, sneaking up the stairs just ahead of them, wand held in one outstretched hand.

“Weiss!” Ruby hissed, and she turned around.  Her eyes widened at the Gryffindor girls standing behind her.  “What are you doing?”

“What are  _ you  _ doing?” she shot back in a hostile whisper.

“Stealing the Relic,” Ruby whispered back.  

Blake sighed again in frustration.  Even Yang cringed at her sister’s naivete, or perhaps her improvisation skills.  

But Weiss only nodded.  “You know about--?”

Ruby nodded. “Yeah.”

“Then let’s do this together.  If they went to all this trouble to keep it hidden, then there’s more than likely multiple layers of security and complicated wards to unlock.  And if something goes really wrong, then someone can go tell Goodwitch and get help.”

Everyone agreed to that, even if it was reluctant in Blake’s case.

They made their way to the door of the corridor together.  “Alohomora,” Weiss whispered, and the door unlocked.

The girls could hear an animal begin to growl as they pushed it open.  Behind the door stood a three-headed dog, large, with short brown fur. Drool dripped from its teeth and its ears were pressed flat to its head as it eyed the four girls.  Blake, already at the rear of the group, took a few extra steps back.

“Maybe we should turn back,” she suggested in a quiet, shaky voice.  “This is probably something we shouldn’t be messing with.”

“Of course it’s something we shouldn’t be messing with!” Weiss hissed. 

Ruby thought that maybe Hagrid had meant something different by ‘fetch’, like maybe bite the heads off of overly-curious students.  Still, despite her nerves, she proceeded further. “Hey Fluffy,” she said in a baby-talk voice. “Who’s a good puppy?”

Fluffy’s rightmost head snapped at her, and Ruby jumped back.  

“Throw the ball!” Yang reminded her in a hushed voice.  

Ruby reached into her pocket, grabbed the red ball, and tossed it to the other side of the hallway.

The dog took off after it like a shot, and the girls noticed what it had stood over: a trapdoor.

“The Relic must be down there,” Blake said.  “I don’t see anything that could be hiding it up here.”

“We don’t even know what size it is!”  Weiss shot back. 

“Shut up!” Ruby interrupted them as Fluffy bounded back towards her with all of his heads bothering the center head and trying to get the ball from it.  Fluffy dropped the ball at her feet and wagged his tail, tongues lolling. “We need to get down the trapdoor while Fluffy is distracted.”

Ruby threw the ball again, as hard as she could, and it bounced around a corner.  Fluffy ran after it as fast as he could. The girls hurried to the trapdoor as soon as the dog’s back was turned and Yang pulled it open.  Beyond the hatch, nothing could be seen except for darkness. Not even a ladder or rope was visible.

“I’ll go first,” Blake said.  “I’ll call you guys if it’s safe.”

And with that, she jumped in.

“Why does she get to go first?” Weiss asked, irritated.  “What makes her so special? Her legs break too!”

Ruby and Yang looked at each other, but said nothing as Weiss continued to complain.

Just as Fluffy turned and ran back towards them, Blake’s voice carried up from the hole in the floor.  “You can jump down! It’s soft down here!”

There was no debate about jumping order now.  Everyone wanted to get down the trapdoor before the dog could reach them.

Curiously, as Blake had indicated, their landings were cushioned by some sort of ivy-like plant.  “This seems almost too convenient,” Blake noted, once her companions had landed. She tried to stand up from the pile of ivy, but something yanked her back down.  “Ow!” She could feel the vines wrapping around her limbs and snaking their way around her chest. 

“It’s going to choke me!” Weiss cried as she struggled to keep the vines away from her neck.

Yang could feel the ivy trying to hold her down, but she pulled herself free before it could get a solid grip on her limbs and torso.  She jogged a few steps away from the plant, but found herself frozen, totally unsure how to help her friends.

“What do I do?” she pleaded.

“Fire!” Blake tried to yell back, but her voice was choked as the vines wrapped around her chest and hindered her ability to breathe.  “Try fire!”

Yang stood frozen for a second more before suddenly bursting into action.  “Incindio!” she said, and an orange flame danced at the end of her wand. She shot it at the plant, experimentally, and it shrunk away from the heat and light, with the parts touched by the jet of flame blackening and shriveling.  As it focused on the new threat, the plant loosened its grip on her friends and they wiggled free of its grasp.

“Someone’s already been through here,” Blake said.  “Another part of the plant was already blackened.”

“How can you even see down here?” Weiss asked.  “It’s pitch dark!”

Blake didn’t bother answering, and she lit her wand with the other girls.  They headed down the passageway with their makeshift flashlights held aloft, every jumping shadow or soft noise making them start and look for the other intruder.

At the end of the hallway was a lit chamber with a high ceiling and a large, wooden door on the opposite side.  The girls extinguished their lights and looked around at the glittering, winged objects flying through the air like miniature birds.

“What are those?” Yang asked.

“They’re keys,” Ruby answered, trying to jump high enough to catch one.  Unfortunately, each one she tried to grab zipped just out of her reach. “One of them probably belongs to that door.”

“We can’t try all those keys!  We can’t even catch them! If we’re not back by morning, we’re all screwed!” Weiss lamented.

“Shut up!” Yang shouted at her.  “Either help us come up with a way to find the key, or shut up!”

Weiss glared at her, but stayed quiet.

“The knob is silver, so the key probably is, too,” Blake mused.  “And it would make sense if it was about the same size as the keyhole, so anything extremely small or large is out.”

Ruby walked to the wall, where a broom sat.  In any other circumstance, its presence would have seemed strange, but now its purpose was clear.  Ruby mounted it and took off into the air, chasing the silver keys and stuffing them in her pocket, where they squirmed and fought to get out.  She ended up flying to land awkwardly hunched over her right side as she fought to both control the broom and keep her pocket closed. 

On the ground, Yang helped control the keys while Ruby tried them and the others watched with bated breath.

The third key, more tarnished than the others, worked.

The door opened onto a room with a human-sized chess board on it.  They had entered on the side with the black pieces. Across the board, faceless white pieces stared back.

“I guess we have to play chess?” Yang asked.

“I got this!” Ruby called, bounding onto the board.

“No!” Blake and Yang yelled in unison. 

“No offense, Ruby, but you suck at chess,” Yang explained sheepishly.  “You only win against Jaune when he lets you.”

“Hmph.  Do you really have so little faith in me, dear sister?” Ruby asked.

“Yes.  Yes, I do.”  Yang looked at the other two girls.  “Please say one of you knows how to play chess?  Even better if you’re actually good at it?”

Weiss raised her hand.  “I play from time to time.  I’m not sure I’m good enough--”

“You have to be better than Ruby,” Yang interjected.

Weiss inhaled and held her breath for a moment before letting it out, opening her eyes.  “Fine. I’ll do my best. Ruby, you go to that bishop over there. Yang, take that knight.  Blake, that rook.” Weiss pointed to each piece, and each girl took their place resolutely. The pieces they replaced turned and stepped off of the board, moving under their own power.

“What will you be, Weiss?” Ruby asked.

“The castle,” she said, and jumped up to take her spot.

From her position, Weiss gave orders to her friends and the other black pieces.  To Yang’s surprise, she wasn’t a bad chess player, but conservative, trying to avoid losing as many pieces as possible.

Because whenever they lost a piece, the white piece taking it viciously attacked it and dragged it off the board, dropping it into a pile with all of the other limp pieces, before moving back to resume the game.

Finally, Weiss didn’t have a move ready.  When she spoke, her voice shook. “Yang?”

“What?”

“If we want to win this as quickly as possible, I have to sacrifice your piece,” Weiss whispered.

“Do it,” Yang said resolutely, without hesitation.  She curled her fingers into fists and held them over her face in a defensive stance.

“Yang!” Ruby cried, not wanting her sister to face the brutal beatings that the other chess pieces had received.

Yang winked at her sister.  “It’s okay, Ruby. I can handle a few bumps and bruises.  And you can bet that I’m not going down without a fight.”

“Are you ready?” Weiss asked.

Yang nodded.

Weiss called the move.  Yang walked over to the square and faced the white queen with pride and confidence.

The white queen raised her stone fist and brought it down.  It caught Yang’s shoulder, and she screamed as a sickening  _ crack _ rang out through the chamber.

Ruby screamed too.  “Yang!”

And even though Yang cradled her injured arm in her free hand, she stood back up.  “You’re on,” she growled through her tears.

The next blow bludgeoned her on the head, and Yang went straight down.

Thankfully, the white queen grabbed her leg and dragged her off the chessboard.  Her arm dragged at an odd angle away from her body.

Ruby sobbed where she stood.  Even Blake looked shocked and pale.  Weiss’s hands were clutching her dress to keep them from shaking, and her lips were pressed into a thin line.

“Ruby, checkmate their king,” Weiss said quietly.

Ruby walked over to where she was directed, watching her sister the entire time.  Yang didn’t move.

After the game ended, she ran over to her sister.  Blood trickled down her forehead, turning her blonde hair red.  But to everyone’s relief, she was still breathing.

“I’ll stay with her,” Ruby said.  “You two go on ahead.”

“Nope,” Weiss said.  “You go ahead.”

“But she’s my sister!” Ruby cried.

“You know what’s going on better than either of us do,” Blake said.  “You’re decent at spellcraft, and your instincts about when to run and when to fight are generally good.  Of the three of us, I trust you to catch the thief and come out alive.”

“I hate to agree with Blake, but she’s not wrong.  You got us this far,” Weiss said. “We can’t let them get away with the Relic. We’re all in trouble then.  At least, if we stop the theft, we have a chance.”

“Your sister would want you to go and stop the thief.  She made the choice to sacrifice herself so you could go on,” Blake added gently.  “I’ll go with you, then go back and help Weiss.”

Reluctantly, Ruby nodded.

Together, she and Blake continued forward to the next room, which contained a note and a line of potion bottles in various sizes and shapes on a small, wooden table.  The moment they stepped inside, purple flames filled the doorway behind them and black flames obscured the path ahead of them.

“I guess we’re trapped unless we figure it out?” Ruby asked.

“Yep.”  Blake walked over to the table and picked up the note and read it aloud. “Danger lies before you, while safety lies behind,

Two of us will help you, whichever you would find,

One among us seven will let you move ahead,

Another will transport the drinker back instead,

Two among our number hold only nettle wine,

Three of us are killers, waiting hidden in line.

Choose, unless you wish to stay here for evermore,

To help you in your choice, we give you these clues four:

First, however slyly the poison tries to hide

You will always find some on nettle wine's left side;

Second, different are those who stand at either end,

But if you would move onwards, neither is your friend;

Third, as you see clearly, all are different size,

Neither dwarf nor giant holds death in their insides;

Fourth, the second left and the second on the right

Are twins once you taste them, though different at first sight.”  Blake looked up. “It’s a logic puzzle.”

“All I got from that, is we can’t move on by drinking those bottles,” Ruby pointed at the bottles on either end, “and that those are the same thing.”  She pointed to the one second from the left and second from the right. 

“Gimme a second,” Blake said, walking along the row of bottles and eyeing each one, while looking back at the clues.  She muttered them to herself a few times before selecting two bottles--the smallest, and one of the round ones on the end.  She handed the smallest one to Ruby. “This should let you go on ahead.”

“What about you?”

Blake held up the other bottle.  “I’ll go back and get Weiss and Yang and let Goodwitch know what’s going on.  Whatever happens, you just have to hold out long enough for help to come.”

Ruby nodded.  “Got it. Good luck, Blake.”

“Same to you, Ruby.”

And the two girls went their separate ways.


	11. In the Chamber

Ruby walked into the next room to see not Oobleck, but Torchwick, standing in front of a mirror.  “What are you doing here, Professor?” she asked.

Torchwick turned and smiled at her.  “Good to see you too, Red. Didya get your homework done before heading out on this little adventure?”

Ruby was still too surprised by his presence to answer.  “But Oobleck--?”

“It’s always good to have a stern Slytherin around for a distraction, eh?  I had to admit, it was quite amusing watching you and your little friends come up with reasons he might be Dark, or at least conspiring to steal the Relic.  Nobody ever suspects the cool and friendly Professor Torchwick, who gets angry at the injustices of war and goes out of his way to help little brats with their homework and doesn’t take points off in lessons.  They’re all too worried about losing another Defense teacher that they’d never dare risk alienating me and making me leave.”

“But Oobleck cursed me!”

“I cursed you, stupid!” Torchwick shouted.  “Your little friend stood in front of me while interrogating him, like the idiot she is, and broke the spell!”  His voice was filled with venom.

Ruby’s surprise turned to anger.  “Well, whatever you’re here to steal, I won’t let you have it.”

“What are you talking about, Red?  Of course you will,” Roman replied affably, but with a wave of his wand, her body was bound in rope and Ruby couldn’t get to her wand to perform the countercurse.  “Now, I just have to get past this mirror...” Torchwick tapped it with his wand, and nothing happened. He examined it as closely as he could, but still couldn’t figure it out.

Torchwick grunted in frustration and pulled a folding knife from his pocket, flicking it open.  He set the blade against his palm, then drew it forward in one sharp, smooth motion. Blood dripped from the cut onto the cold stone floor.

Torchwick knelt down next to the splatter and whispered some words in a language that made Ruby’s spine tingle.

A patch on the ground began to spread.  Ruby couldn’t tell if it was the blood, or the darkness.  Torchwick stood up, pulling a stained cloth from his pocket and wrapped his hand inside.  He stepped back as something emerged from the puddle, something bulbous, with tentacles with sharp tips.

It had no face that Ruby could see, and a dark-colored miasma swirled inside its large, round section.  Roman touched it, then spoke again. “Mistress,” he began reverentially. “The Relic appears to be inside of a mirror, and I cannot figure out how to retrieve it.”

“How stupid are you, Torchwick?” A woman’s voice carried from the orb.  

“This isn’t an ordinary mirror, I’m sure of it!”  A hint of Torchwick’s usual boisterousness crept into his voice.  “Just take a look at it. Please.”

The orb floated over to the mirror and began to run its tentacles over the surface.  Sparks of enchantments ran up to its central orb, and it hummed. 

“Try the girl,” the silky voice commanded, and with a flick of his wand, Ruby’s bonds dissolved.

“Look in the mirror, Red, and tell me what you see.  Any funny business, and you’ll never leave this chamber.”  As Ruby stepped in front of the mirror, Torchwick kept his wand trained on her.  

At first, Ruby saw herself reflected, but her grim, tear-stained expression was replaced with a smile.  Her hand snaked into her pocket, and pulled out an orange amulet with silver engravings. Her reflection held a finger to her lips and put the stone back into her pocket.  At the same time, Ruby felt the her own pocket become weighed down. She’d gotten the message: Don’t tell.

“I see myself with my mom,” she choked out.  “She’s hugging me.”

Torchwick’s hand came out of nowhere, slapping Ruby hard enough in the face that she fell backwards.  “Don’t lie to me, Red. What did you see? Where is it?”

“I don’t know!” Ruby shouted back.  “I saw my mom!”

“Allow me,” the orb said, and floated over to her.  Its tentacles wrapped around her arms, gripping them tightly, applying enough pressure that Ruby thought her bones might break, before it suddenly released her.  Ruby noticed that, wherever the creature had touched her skin, its tentacles had started to burn and blacken.

“She burns our minion.  How curious,” the voice said, totally unbothered by this turn of events.  “Kill her, Roman.”

Roman raised his wand, and Ruby charged him, diving at his chest and taking them both down in a heap.  The mirror went with them.

Torchwick threw Ruby off of him and lunged at her, with the jellyfish creature following.  Its tentacles reached for her throat this time, and wrapped themselves around it.

Ruby pulled at them, but they wouldn’t budge.  Her chest began to hurt, and she panicked as she realized she couldn’t breathe.  From then on, it didn’t take long for the world to go black. The last thing she saw was Torchwick’s grinning face.


	12. Aftermath

Ruby blinked open her eyes to a familiar pair of small, dark glasses, green eyes, and white hair, and her heart immediately started racing.  “Torchwick!” she tried to shout, but it came out hoarsely.

“Professor Torchwick’s been taken care of,” Professor Ozpin said calmly.  “The relic has been secured as well.” 

Ruby took a second to process that, along with her surroundings.  She was in an unfamiliar bed in a room full of unfamiliar beds, with curtains hanging between them for privacy.

She reached up and felt her neck.  Gauze had been affixed over the deepest wounds.  

“What about Yang?  Is she okay?”

“Your sister is recovering well,” Professor Ozpin replied.  “She was very concerned after learning that you had joined her in the hospital wing.  If I recall correctly, she stayed at your bedside for as long as was allowed. In fact, she is probably waiting outside as we speak.”  Professor Ozpin glanced towards the door, but Ruby still had questions. 

“What was that thing Torchwick summoned?” she asked.   “Did you see it?”

Ozpin’s expression hardened.  “That was a purely Dark creature known as a Grimm.  They exist in realms beyond our own.” He paused. “I advise you not to speak of the events in that chamber to anyone else.  The Council keeps information about the Grimm as secret as possible due to the sheer Dark destructive potential they carry. What you experienced was only a fraction of its power.”

“Do they normally burn when you touch them?”  

Ozpin raised an eyebrow.  “What do you mean by that?”

“Well, whenever I touched the Grimm, it burned it.  Torchwick seemed surprised by it.”

Ozpin nodded.  “That’s quite unusual, Miss Rose.  Perhaps it has something to do with your heritage.  You have silver eyes, after all.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Legend has it that silver-eyed witches and wizards have exceptional gifts which allow them unique advantages over the Grimm,” Ozpin explained. “Perhaps these abilities are beginning to manifest in you.”  He looked out the window over Ruby’s head. “Well, I best be off or Madame Pomfrey will ask me to leave herself.”

And without further ado, Ozpin walked out of the infirmary.  When he opened the door, before he could even step out, Yang slipped in.  Madame Pomfrey followed her, a stern expression on her face.

“Yang Xiao Long!  Your sister is supposed to be resting!” Madame Pomfrey snapped.

“And she’s in bed and everything!” Yang finished brightly.  “Please? She’s finally awake.”

Madame Pomfrey sighed, looking like giving in to the demand was overly taxing.  “Five minutes.” She returned to her office, and Yang turned back to Ruby, grinning wildly.  Her arm was in a white cloth sling, but apart from that, she seemed fine.

“How are you, sis?” she said.  

“Probably bruised,” Ruby answered while examining the remaining welts on her arms.  “What about you?”

“As soon as my arm finishes healing, I’ll be good as new!” Yang said.  “Weiss and Blake carried me out to Madame Pomfrey--god, I wish I could have heard them try and explain what happened to me--and she fixed me up.  They went to get Ozpin, and apparently he was right in time. Apparently something was choking you, your neck was all red and you were barely breathing.  I was really freaked out. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Yang hugged Ruby so tightly she could barely breathe, and the memory of being choked by the Grimm flashed through her mind, making her gasp.

“I’m so sorry!” Yang said, pulling back.  “I didn’t mean to hurt you!”

“No, it’s okay.”  Ruby rubbed one of the sore spots on her neck.

Madame Pomfrey stuck her head out of her office.  “Your five minutes are up, Miss Xiao Long.”

 

The next time Ruby saw Blake was at the end of year feast, at which Slytherin was slated to win their eighth consecutive House Cup.  The hall was decorated in green and gold for the occasion, which was bittersweet for Gryffindor. They’d won more Quidditch games against Slytherin this year than in recent memory, but it hadn’t been enough for the House Cup.

“It is a pleasure to note that you all have survived the past year,” Professor Ozpin said, beginning his speech after all the students had eaten.  “Congratulations to Slytherin House for winning the House Cup for the eighth year in a row.”

Cheers rose through the hall from the Slytherin tables, but no one else’s excitement was dampened, either.  Everyone loved good food and the fact that the end of the school year meant another summer break would come sooner with each passing day.  

“To all of you, have an excellent break and be prepared to begin your lessons when school resumes in September,” Professor Ozpin told them, and it seemed like every student was ready to take him at his word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Kudos and comments are always appreciated!


End file.
